East African states to hold joint military drills in Uganda
East African countries are set to hold joint military drills to be held in the Ugandan city of Jinja later this year.
The drills that will attract over 1500 participants from the military, police and civilian components for the six East African Community member states will be held as part of the 12th EAC Field Training Exercise scheduled for May and June.
Keep Reading
While opening the planning conference for the drills, the UPDF Chief of Personnel and Administration, Maj Gen George Igumba, reiterated Uganda's commitment towards the successful hosting of the exercise.
"On behalf of the UPDF and the Republic of Uganda as a host nation, I do assure you of maximum support to this cause to ensure the success of the exercise in Jinja later this year," Maj Gen Igumba said.
"The exercise will go a long way in enabling us to build synergies that will govern and strengthen the strategic vision of our leaders for the good of the people of East Africa."
Colonel Raphael Kiptoo who represented the EAC Secretary General said the general objective of EAC exercises is to enhance the state of readiness and interoperability of partner state armed forces, Police, civilian components and other stakeholders in responding to complex security challenges.
"Such exercises enhance the already high level of interconnectedness and interoperability of our Armed Forces which has been achieved in operations. The East African Community will continue counting on your support in the EAC integration process," Col Kiptoo said.
The Chairperson of the planning conference Brig Gen Jerry Korir called upon members to put in maximum effort, energy, commitment and perseverance so that by the end of the conference, they are able to produce the required documents for the final planning conference.
The field training exercises are conducted in rotational in nature among the partner states every two years.
The exercises are conducted in accordance with the East African Community Protocol on cooperation in Defence Affairs and pursuant to the Defence Sector calendar of activities.
The exercises have been conducted since 2005 under the themes of peace support operations, counter terrorism, counter piracy and disaster management.
Each of the member states presented their special ideas on each of these thematic areas.
The three-day conference is also being attended by Defence Liaison Officers of the East African states, Defence Attachés accredited to Uganda, general and senior officers, representatives from the Police, Prisons, immigration and civilian components.
The drills that will attract 1500 participants will be held between May 17 and June 16, 2022 in the districts of Jinja, Mayuge and Buikwe.
